Press Release
For Immediate Release
November 26, 2007

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SUBMISSION OF URBAN ANIMAL MAGAZINE - PAGE 3

WORKING MODELS OF PET STORES IN CONJUNCTION WITH ADOPTION

There are many rescue organisations that work through pet supply stores to rehome abandoned or strayed animals. The best local example of this in Sydney is what the Pet Barn chain (which does not sell livestock) does with Monika's Dog Rescue by inviting them to display and rehome their dogs at the Alexandria head office store on weekends.

In Victoria, Pets At Home is a major store that does not sell pets, per se, but acts as an intermediary between breeders and pet owners or those who are looking to rehome animals. For example, they will consign an animal to the store for no more than four weeks for a $295 fee (covers boarding, care and feeding according to food requested by breeder and the cost of two vet health checks) in addition to the price set by the consignor. Pets must be microchipped and vaccinated seven days before sale in store, the cost of which is at breeder's expense. The pets are vet checked before they enter the store and before they are taken home by the buyer. People interested in obtaining a pet must first fill in application forms and have a 24 hour wait with the breeder having the right to approve the application. In applications there are a broad range of questions about lifestyle and other aspects of the consumer's ability to take care of their new pet and staff take time to question and educate the buyer in order to determine their suitability for the animal. Pets at Home also promotes responsible desexing.

An overseas example of this style of pet marketing is PetSmart which don't sell cats or dogs, they adopt them out through local services working with them in-store. Pet Smart donates retail space in their store to local welfare groups, and will have dogs on weekends and generally cats overnight through the week. ¬ÝPetSmart has just opened its thousandth store this week. They have limited sales of birds and small animals and this policy has undergone changes over the past few years in response to consumer demands and industry input.

You can see their policy online at:

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=196265&p=factset05

Further below in our submission, you will also see a document from PetSmart on shop inspections which is a State government certificate from Connecticut.

Another major pet chain in the US is the 800 store Petco brand which has a similar program of pet adoptions for dogs and cats with their policy found at http://www.petco.com/Content/PressRelease.aspx?PC=pr040506&Nav=146

and which also sells fish, limited birds and reptiles plus small animals such as guinea pigs and mice. They use Petfinder.com as an online adoption partner to direct consumers to more than 9000 animal shelters and adoption agencies across the USA, Canada and Mexico.

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